May is short story month! Time to try some Science Fiction and Fantasy!

Posted May 2nd, 2013 by Farnsworth

May is short story month!
Admit it, sometimes you want a good story, but don't have a lot of time, and the thought of starting up that thousand-page tome is daunting. If you're in the mood for a quick fix-try some short fiction!

Science fiction and fantasy readers could easily subsist entirely on short fiction if they so desired. With so many sources of good short fiction available, it's hard Not to read it.

Short fiction collections of stories written by one author, are one option.
A new title I recommend is "Fountain of Age," by Nancy Kress. She has won both Hugo and Nebula awards for two of her stories within this book. I expected greatness, and that's just what I got.
Nancy Kress uses physics-based ideas as a starting point, but more importantly, she tells stories about people. The author brings you into the story and builds on the story arc to a satisfying conclusion. Character development is quick and meaningful, and the characters are relatable. If you like intriguing, well developed themes that will keep you thinking long after you've finished, this book's for you.

Other notable sci-fi/fantasy collections include:
Diving mimes, weeping czars and other unusual suspects by Ken Scholes, The best of Larry Niven, Burning chrome by William Gibson, The collected stories of Philip K. Dick, The Saturn game by Poul Anderson, The golden apples of the sun, I sing the body electric, The illustrated man by Ray Bradbury, Hunt the space-witch! by Robert Silverberg, Sorry please thank you by Charles Yu, The unreal and the real by Ursula K. Le Guin, & Remember why you fear me by Robert Shearman.

If you like variety, sci-fi/fantasy anthologies (collections of stories by a variety of authors) come in an assortment of flavors.
Some great sci-fi/fantasy anthologies include:
Digital domains, Ghosts by gaslight, The mad scientist's guide to world domination, More stories from the Twilight zone, Oz re imagined, Rewired, the post-cyberpunk anthology, Rock on, the greatest hits of science fiction & fantasy, The book of Cthulhu, Circus, fantasy under the big top, Digital domains, The dragon book, Ghosts by gaslight, The Sandman book of dreams, & The new weird.